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Three Cancer Drug Developers Raise Big Rounds, Securing Over $500M

illustration of biotech lab equipment

In medical-related funding news, three companies focused on developing treatments, therapies and medicines for cancer patients have announced supergiant rounds.

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Across the sea, German unicorn BioNTech announced it closed a massive $325 million Series B in what it described as “one of the largest single private rounds for a biotech company in European history.” The eleven-year-old clinical-stage company is developing immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer and other serious diseases. Fidelity Management and Research Company led the round, which also included participation from a slew of other investors. The raise comes just over 18 months after it raised a $270 million series A led by Redmile Group at a $2 billion pre-money valuation.

Closer to home, Redwood City-based Revolution Sciences has closed on a $100 million Series C led by biotech-focused Boxer Capital. The four-year-old startup discovers and develops new medicines for cancer patients, per its website, and has raised a total of $226 million over its lifetime, according to its Crunchbase profile.

And, as Axios reported this morning, Mountain View-based IGM Biosciences, which is also focused on developing drugs for cancer patients, has raised $102 million in Series C funding from Redmile Group, Janus Henderson Investors, Vivo Capital and Haldor Topsøe Holding.

BioNTech says it was founded on the premise “that every cancer patient’s tumor is unique and therefore each patient’s treatment should be individualized.” Revolution is working to “translate frontier oncology targets,” or what it describes as “proteins that drive the growth of cancers or that control immune responses that can defeat them.” And, IGM Biosciences is focused on “creating and developing engineered IgM antibodies for the treatment of cancer patients.”

Sadly, I’m sure almost all of us have lost a loved one or friend to cancer. It’s safe to say that I’m rooting for any company that aims to help cancer patients. Here’s to hoping that these millions of dollars of funding will help save more lives.

Illustration: Li-Anne Dias

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